The Swedish court system is divided into three main groups: the Ordinary Courts, Administrative Courts and Specialized Courts. The General Court usually handles criminal, civil, and bankruptcy cases. Some district courts may also have the task to determine more specific goals. The Administrative Courts deal with cases of public law, in cases where an individual acts against the public authorities, such as in tax and social insurance.
The District Court is a court of first instance and it consists in the chief judge, chief aldermen, aldermen, assessors, lawyers and notaries. A district court’s geographical area of law enforcement is called jurisdiction. A District Court’s judgments and orders can be generally appealed to a Court of Appeal. Judgments and decisions in labor disputes handled by the District Court can be appealed however to the Labor Court. Decisions taken in respect to the issuance of public documents from the District Court’s administrative department can be appealed to a Court of Appeal.
The Court of Appeal is the second instance in criminal and civil cases and handles the processes on appeal from a district court within the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal.
There are six Courts of Appeal in Sweden: Svea Court of Appeal (with the seat in Stockholm), Göta Court of Appeal (with the seat in Jönköping ), The Court of Appeal for Skåne and Blekinge (with the seat in Malmö), Appeal for Western Sweden (with the seat in Gothenburg), Appeal for Lower Norrland (with the seat in Sundsvall), Appeal for Lower Norrland (with the seat in Sundsvall).
In the Courts of Appeal are serving approximately 420 judges and 250 administrators. For the Court of Appeal are also linked more than 520 jurors. They are nominated by the political parties and appointed by the county for a term of four years.
In Sweden there are two parallel highest courts in the judiciary system: the Supreme Court and the Supreme Administrative Court, both having as the main task to issue decisions on certain cases, but in different areas of law.
The Supreme Court’s most important task is to set a precedent through its decisions in concrete cases, which represents an important guidance for similar cases that will be judged by the ordinary courts in the future.
This task is usually called the Supreme Court’s precedent-forming function. The Supreme Court’s activity is not designed to meet the complainant’s interest in obtaining the goal that could not be achieved in a process held by other court.
The Supreme Court and Supreme Administrative Court cannot, as some other countries’ highest courts, invalidate a statute or a single regulation. However, the Swedish two highest courts, as well as other courts and authorities, do not apply a provision that is considers unconstitutional in the examination of a case.
We are at your service if you are interested in opening a company in Sweden. We can also offer support in filing tax returns. Financial statements must be prepared while taking into account the requirements of IFRSs (International Financial Reporting Standards), GAAPs (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles), and any other applicable financial reporting framework. For information on our services in this regard, get in touch with our accountants in Sweden.